I've been doing magic for about 20 years and half that time has been spent doing mentalism specifically. I've done a lot of shows and have read a lot of books.
I too have struggled with finding the "best method" for gaining someone's thought. In constant search of the holy grail of Mentalism feats.
I've noticed on a lot of these forums people get fairly heated about what the most "real" form of Mentalism is. People will argue that billet work is the only true form of Mentalism and that propless mentalism is just like playing 20 questions and isn't amazing. You read people argue back "writing it down is illogical" or "why should I need to tear it up?"
These are all valid points but the question I always come back to is this:
What would it look like if I were really psychic?
I think people often misinterpret this question to mean how would a psychic present his abilities in an experimental setting.
I've done a lot of thinking on the nature of psychic activity and have found what I believe to be the true answer to this most important question in Mentalism.
A psychic wouldn't care AT ALL about whether it was written down or not or where it went when it was written down. It would literally be inconsequential.
A mind reader would see into your mind and simply tell you about yourself. Who you are, what you love, what you hate, your deepest dreams and desires. He would be aware of your strengths, your joy, your pain, and your fears. And we would feel these things with you.
A real mind reader would respond to thoughts in your head without you having to say them.
You'd think "ok prove it, read my mind then"
And he would say "I sense you feel some doubt in my abilities and would like me to prove them to you"
A Mentalist who is a real mind reader wouldn't care about method at all he would seek to understand his spectators and feel with them. To genuinely care about Who that person is.
When I got my B.A. Psychology I studied a lot about human emotions and how we process and remember things. We are emotional animals and normally remember that in which makes us feel the most.
It's not that hard to be a real mind reader all you need to do is be mindful of what others feel and share those experiences with them in a way that builds. Relate to them and feel their pain and successes with them as if it was your own life you were talking about.
All the tests we do (Billets, Book tests, P.A., Etc) is simply a way to have them make a decision so we can tell them why we think they made it.
I'm convinced that all you need to know to be a great mind reader is the seven universal facial expressions:
Anger, Fear, Sadness, Joy, Surprise, Disgust, and Contempt
With these you can really and truly read people's minds because these are a very real physical manifestation of people's thoughts.
I promise you that if you try to really read people's minds they won't give a f**k if the choice they made was 1 in 5 or 1 in 1,000,000,000. They will have had the a genuine experience of real compassion, made a real connection with another human being.
That's what we have to offer the world and that's why our art matters.
I don't know, just my thoughts on it anyway
I too have struggled with finding the "best method" for gaining someone's thought. In constant search of the holy grail of Mentalism feats.
I've noticed on a lot of these forums people get fairly heated about what the most "real" form of Mentalism is. People will argue that billet work is the only true form of Mentalism and that propless mentalism is just like playing 20 questions and isn't amazing. You read people argue back "writing it down is illogical" or "why should I need to tear it up?"
These are all valid points but the question I always come back to is this:
What would it look like if I were really psychic?
I think people often misinterpret this question to mean how would a psychic present his abilities in an experimental setting.
I've done a lot of thinking on the nature of psychic activity and have found what I believe to be the true answer to this most important question in Mentalism.
A psychic wouldn't care AT ALL about whether it was written down or not or where it went when it was written down. It would literally be inconsequential.
A mind reader would see into your mind and simply tell you about yourself. Who you are, what you love, what you hate, your deepest dreams and desires. He would be aware of your strengths, your joy, your pain, and your fears. And we would feel these things with you.
A real mind reader would respond to thoughts in your head without you having to say them.
You'd think "ok prove it, read my mind then"
And he would say "I sense you feel some doubt in my abilities and would like me to prove them to you"
A Mentalist who is a real mind reader wouldn't care about method at all he would seek to understand his spectators and feel with them. To genuinely care about Who that person is.
When I got my B.A. Psychology I studied a lot about human emotions and how we process and remember things. We are emotional animals and normally remember that in which makes us feel the most.
It's not that hard to be a real mind reader all you need to do is be mindful of what others feel and share those experiences with them in a way that builds. Relate to them and feel their pain and successes with them as if it was your own life you were talking about.
All the tests we do (Billets, Book tests, P.A., Etc) is simply a way to have them make a decision so we can tell them why we think they made it.
I'm convinced that all you need to know to be a great mind reader is the seven universal facial expressions:
Anger, Fear, Sadness, Joy, Surprise, Disgust, and Contempt
With these you can really and truly read people's minds because these are a very real physical manifestation of people's thoughts.
I promise you that if you try to really read people's minds they won't give a f**k if the choice they made was 1 in 5 or 1 in 1,000,000,000. They will have had the a genuine experience of real compassion, made a real connection with another human being.
That's what we have to offer the world and that's why our art matters.
I don't know, just my thoughts on it anyway